The present invention is generally related to vehicle systems. In particular, the present invention is related to vehicle ignition keys having coded records for identifying and asserting user preferences associated therewith.
As vehicles and associated vehicle systems become more complex and feature rich, use and control thereof becomes more complicated. With the advent of vehicle-based Internet access, control complexity further increases. Not only may different users have different preferences or permissions for access, but Internet based services such as vehicle tracking may expand the way the Internet is used in the vehicular context. In addition, different users may prefer different settings for basic vehicle control systems.
As an example of basic vehicle system control, many vehicle seat position controls allow precise control of seat position, seat back position, seat angle, lumbar support, headrest support, seat height, and more. For vehicles serving several different drivers, managing seat position settings may become cumbersome particularly for persons having seat control requirements differing drastically from the previous driver. When the control of additional systems are considered, such as, for example, radio settings, climate control settings, and the like, the degree of complexity associated with control and management of preferences and settings can increase dramatically.
Some systems such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,084, B1 issued to Kijima, et al., on May 8, 2001 provide sophisticated vehicle system characteristic monitoring and adjustment for each driver. The problem of managing individual driver preferences is addressed by the use of a system which reads an IC card to determine user preferences. The IC card described in Kijima may store one or more driver""s preferences and may be inserted into a card reader associated with the vehicle. Copies of a master IC card may be distributed to drivers or alternatively each driver may have an individualized card.
In other sophisticated systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,068 B1 issued to Gimmler et al. on Apr. 10, 2001, driver behavior is sensed and long-term, short-term, and steady-speed components are used to perform adjustments in accordance with a corresponding adjustment characteristic. It should be noted that the system described in Gimmler et al appears to perform behavior-adaptive control regardless of specific knowledge about the individual driver and merely adapts based on continuing input from vehicle system behavior sensors. In still another system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,986 B1, issued to Kimihira et al. on Aug. 21, 2001, a machine such as an engine, is trained to suit the characteristics of a user and/or using conditions.
In still other systems such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,104 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,488 issued to Symanow et al. on Dec. 7, 1999 and Dec. 21, 1999 respectively, user controls may be reprogrammed to control different aspects of a device without changes to the device or software. None of these systems however address the need to easily determine and assert a particular user""s preferences. Such easy assertion would not require, for example, a complicated, separate card reader, or the like.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide a means to easily identify and assert a user""s vehicle system preferences including Internet controls. Such easy assertion would preferably be associated with part of the normal operation of the vehicle, e.g. during ignition or the like.
According the present invention is directed to a vehicle memory key having two sides with different user preference related information encoded on each side. During normal operation of the vehicle, e.g. during key insertion for ignition, one side of the key is read and one set of user preferences asserted, and when the key is inserted such that the other side of key is read a different set of user preferences is asserted.
In one embodiment, the vehicle memory key of the present invention may be configured for storing user preferences in a memory such as an encoded magnetic strip or the like. The vehicle memory key may preferably be capable of being inserted into a key receptacle associated with operating the vehicle, e.g. an ignition module or cylinder, which may further be coupled to one or more vehicle systems. A first insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle may be associated with a first set of the user preferences, for example, for a first user. The first set of user preferences may be stored in a first portion of the memory such, for example, a magnetic strip. A second insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle may be associated with a second set of the user preferences stored in a second portion of the memory. It will be appreciated that the second set of user preferences is different from the first set of user preferences and is preferably associated with a different user, although it is possible that two different sets of preferences for the same user may be stored on respective sides of the vehicle memory key.
In the vehicle memory key of the present invention, first and second portions of the memory respectively may be configured to contain encoded information, e.g. magnetically encoded information associated with the first and second set of user preferences. The encoded information is then capable of being read by a reading device associated with the key receptacle, e.g. a device capable of reading the magnetically encoded information. It should also be noted that in accordance with alternative exemplary embodiments, the first set of user preferences is selectively associated, e.g. through the use of a switch or the like on one side of the vehicle memory key, with more than one user, and the second set of user preferences is selectively associated, e.g. through the use of another switch or the like on the other side of the vehicle memory key, also with more than one user.
In accordance with various exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that the one or more vehicle systems may include one or more of a window control system, a seat position control system, a steering column position control system, an audio control system, a video control system, a vehicle use tracking system, an Internet interface control system, a climate control system, a ride control system, a mirror control system, and a navigation system, or the like.
In a method for determining user preferences in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, user preferences associated with the vehicle may be stored in a memory, the vehicle memory key capable of being inserted into a key receptacle associated with operating the vehicle and one or more vehicle systems. A first set of the user preferences may be associated with a first insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle by storing the first set of user preferences in a first portion of the memory, and a second set of the user preferences may be associated with a second insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle by storing the second set of user preferences in a second portion of the memory. It should be noted that the second set of user preferences is preferably different from the first set of the user preferences.
Information associated with the first and second set of user preferences may be encoded in the first and second portions of the memory respectively such that the encoded information from the first portion of the memory may be read if the vehicle memory key is inserted in the first insertion orientation, and the encoded information from the second portion of the memory may be read if the vehicle memory key is inserted in the second insertion orientation. The user preferences may be asserted in the one or more vehicle systems which systems may include one or more of a window control system, a seat position control system, a steering column position control system, an audio control system, a video control system, a vehicle use tracking system, an Internet interface control system, a climate control system, a ride control system, a mirror control system, and a navigation system, or the like. In accordance with alternative exemplary embodiments, multiple portions of the first set of user preferences may be selectively associated, e.g. through the use of a switch, with a more than one user, and multiple portions of the second set of user preferences may similarly be selectively associated with more than one user.
In accordance with yet other alternative exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a system for asserting user preferences in a vehicle may include a vehicle memory key for storing, in a memory, user preferences associated with one or more vehicle systems of the vehicle. The vehicle memory key has a first insertion orientation associated with a first set of the user preferences stored in a first portion of the memory; and a second insertion orientation associated with a second set of the user preferences stored in a second portion of the memory. The second set of user preferences is preferably different from the first set of the user preferences. The system may also preferably include a key receptacle for receiving the vehicle memory key. The key receptacle may be associated with operating the vehicle, e.g. an ignition module or cylinder. The key receptacle may be configured to read the first or the second set of the user preferences when the key is inserted in the first or second insertion orientation. One or more vehicle system control modules may be coupled to the key receptacle such that they may be configured to receive the first or second set of user preferences read by the key receptacle. The system may further be equipped with a reading device associated with the key receptacle, and the first and second portions of the memory respectively may contain encoded information associated with the first and second set of user preferences. The encoded information is preferably capable of being read by reading device.
As previously described, the one or more vehicle systems may include one or more of a window control system, a seat position control system, a steering column position control system, an audio control system, a video control system, a vehicle use tracking system, an Internet interface control system, a climate control system, a ride control system, a mirror control system, and a navigation system, or the like. In accordance with various alternative exemplary embodiments, the first set of user preferences may be selectively associated, e.g. through the use of a switch, with a more than one user, and the second set of user preferences may be selectively associated, e.g. with another switch, with a more than one user on the other side of the vehicle memory key.
In still another exemplary embodiment in accordance with the present invention, a method may be used for determining user preferences associated with one or more vehicle systems of a vehicle using a vehicle memory key. The exemplary method includes storing user preferences associated with the vehicle in a memory associated with the vehicle memory key, associating a first set of the user preferences with a first insertion orientation relative to a key receptacle by storing the first set of user preferences in a first portion of the memory, and associating a second set of the user preferences with a second insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle by storing the second set of user preferences in a second portion of the memory. It will be appreciated that the second set of user preferences is preferably different from the first set of the user preferences. The vehicle memory key may be inserted into the key receptacle which may further be associated with operating the vehicle and the vehicle systems. Once inserted, the first set of user preferences may be read from the first portion of the memory if the vehicle memory key is inserted in the first insertion orientation, and the second set of user preferences may be read from the second portion of the memory if the vehicle memory key is inserted in the second insertion orientation. The user preferences may then be asserted in the one or more vehicle systems; such as one or more of a window control system, a seat position control system, a steering column position control system, an audio control system, a video control system, a vehicle use tracking system, an Internet interface control system, a climate control system, a ride control system, a mirror control system, and a navigation system, or the like. The first set of user preferences may alternatively be selectively associated with a first more than one user, e.g. through the use of a switch, and similarly the second set of user preferences may be selectively associated with more than one user.
In still another embodiment, a vehicle memory key stores user Internet preferences associated with one or more vehicle Internet terminals in a memory. The vehicle memory key is preferably capable of being inserted into a key receptacle associated with operating the vehicle and Internet related vehicle systems. The vehicle memory key preferably comprises a first insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle, associated with a first set of user Internet preferences stored in a first portion of the memory. A second insertion orientation relative to the key receptacle may further be provided, the second insertion orientation associated with a second set of user Internet preferences stored in a second portion of the memory. It should be noted that the second set of user preferences is preferably different from the first set of the user preferences. The first and second portions of the memory respectively contain encoded information associated with the first and second set of user Internet preferences which information is preferably capable of being read by a reading device associated with the key receptacle. It should be noted that the one or more Internet related vehicle systems may preferably include one or more of an Internet based vehicle use tracking system, and an Internet access control system. The user Internet preferences may include one or more of: vehicle use tracking system settings and Internet access control settings. The first set of user Internet preferences may be selectively associated with a first one user, and the second set of user Internet preferences may be selectively associated with a second user different from the first one user.
It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which arc incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.